San Diego 2023


I love San Diego County. It is the number one beer traveler's destination in the United States. It has about 150 breweries, many of which make great beer, and the vast majority of them are open every day. I've planned and taken many beer trips, and the most frustrating part is that most breweries across the nation are closed on Mondays and/or Tuesdays, and many are also closed on Wednesdays and/or Thursdays. Even if they're open during the week, it might not be until 3:00 or 4:00. This makes planning beer trips quite difficult because my route has to be calculated to arrive at each brewery at a day and time that it's open. In San Diego County, most breweries are open every day, and more than half of them open at 11:00 AM or noon, even on Mondays and Tuesdays.

This was a fairly spur-of-the moment trip. Usually I spend months planning trips, but I didn't even decide to take this trip until less than a month before I went. It was shortly after the new year, and with months of cold Maryland weather ahead, I decided to spend a week of it in warm (or at least warmer) southern California.

Tuesday January 31. A typical cold, gray, dreary winter day. My friend Courtney picked me up and drove me to BWI. The first leg of my flight was a bit delayed, but it worked out fine because when I landed in Kansas City I walked directly onto the next plane, making it my shortest layover ever. I landed in San Diego in the middle of the afternoon and took a taxi (the first non-Uber/non-Lyft I'd taken in many years) to U-Save, which rents cars for considerably less than the places at the airport do. Since I'd be walking around town for the first two days, I wanted to wait until Thursday to rent a car, but the rate for 8 days was lower than the 6-day rate. The 7-day rate was lower than the 6-day rate but higher than the 8-day rate. It didn't make sense, but it worked out well because after getting the car I drove to a few breweries that I might not have gone to otherwise.

My first stop was Lost Abbey, which has four locations. I went to the one they call The Church. My friend Jamie and her friend John met me there. We sampled:


We walked over to Amplified Ale Works, which is just a block away. They had been at another location during my 2018 trip. By now they had two locations: one in Pacific Beach, and the one I visited today in East Village. Their main brewery had been shut down due to financial issues, so most of the beers they had on tap were guest drafts. We tried:


Downstairs they have a craft cocktail bar called the Acid Vault, which wouldn't open for another hour and a half, but they let us in to see it and take photos.


On a tip from our server we walked over to East Village Brewing, which was 5 months old. We tried:


I said good-bye to Jamie and John, drove to a Motel 6, and checked in. Incidentally, I usually stay mostly in Airbnbs when I travel, mainly because they tend to be less expensive than motels, but for this trip I was able to find comparably priced motels in every town I stayed at except one, and even in that one I chose a motel because I could walk to breweries whereas I'd have to Uber from the Airbnb, so the overall cost wasn't that much more, and it was worth it to not have to wait around for rides.

After checking in I walked to Ballast Point, which as of this writing has 5 locations. Today I visited their Little Italy location, which is a fairly big place with both indoor and covered outdoor seating. I'd been here in 2015. They have a kitchen, and the place smelled great. It was trivia night, and the funniest team name was Peyton Manning's Forehead. I tried:

Interestingly, over time the quad and barleywine became less palatable, and the strong/saison/tripel became my favorite.


Little Italy has many restaurants and several wine bars. I stopped in one wine bar and bought a can of wine to go. Then I walked to Mikkeller, which started in Denmark and has bars in several countries. Their San Diego location is the only one in the United States. I tried:

I bought a bottle of Castle Black Game of Thrones to go.


On the way back to the motel I stopped at a craft beer bar called Bottlecraft, which has 6 locations. I was at their original location in Little Italy. They have many high-end craft beers both on tap and for sale to-go. I sampled:


Walked back to the motel and crashed around 10ish. Oh, by the way, for those of you who complain about gas prices on the East Coast, check this out:


Wednesday February 1. Woke up between 3 and 4 AM, which wasn't surprising because my body was on East Coast time. Was somewhat hungover, also not surprising considering all I had consumed the night before. Worked on this travelogue for a few hours. At 7:20 I walked down to Waterfront Park, then through Little Italy up to Bankers Hill and bought a couple of loaves of bread at a convenience store. They had turkey sandwiches but at $9 apiece I passed. This would be the one day I would not use the rental car, so it was ironic that on my way back to the motel I walked right by U-Save.

Shortly before 10:00 I set out for a day of walking and drinking. It was gorgeous and sunny, and the temperature was somewhat cool. Planes landing at the airport came in close and loudly overhead. I walked about a mile, most of it uphill, to Balboa Park, a 1200-acre park with lots of stuff, including the San Diego Zoo.

Lawn bowling.


Shortly after 11:00 I arrived at North Park Beer Company, which has two locations in San Diego, both of which I would visit today. My first stop was their Bankers Hill location, which had opened a month earlier. They don't do flights but my server let me try sips of 3 beers so I could make an informed beer choice.


Went to nearby Pure Project, which has 5 locations, 2 of which are in downtown San Diego (I would visit 4 of them during my trip). Right now I was at their Balboa Park location, which was 3 years old. They do flights of 5 beers, which I didn't need with my hangover, but I didn't finish them all. With tip I paid $29 for them. It's interesting that I won't pay $9 for a sandwich but I'll spend 3 times that much for a few beer samples.


Walked through Balboa Park again. I encountered some squirrels who had no fear of people. I reached my hand down to one of them. It grabbed my finger, causing a puncture wound with one of its razor sharp claws.


After the squirrel incident it was more than 2 miles, some of it uphill, to Modern Times, which has three locations, all of which I would visit on this trip. (They used to have several locations in other parts of California, plus Portland OR, but those have closed.) I was at their North Park Flavordome. I sampled 3 high-octane stouts, and paid $30 with tip. My server also gave me a sample of one of their IPAs.

Actual VHS tapes.


Walked up to North Park Beer Company's North Park location and tried:

I liked the restroom doors.

There were games upstairs.


On a suggestion from a friend who was following me on Facebook I went over to Original 40, which was named after the original 40 acres of land that is now North Park.


My last brewery of the day was Pure Project's North Park location. I liked all 5 beers in my flight. Good thing because with tip I paid $32.


Ubered to Bottlecraft because in my previous night's drunken stupor I had left my can of wine and bottle of Mikkeller beer. While there I bought 3 cans to go.


Came back and crashed early, but woke up before midnight and couldn't get back to sleep.


Thursday February 2. After several hours of failing to get back to sleep, and feeling lots of energy inside me, I figured I should at least use my time and energy productively, so I wrote for a few hours, made sandwiches, and got ready to drive northward.

Went to Tecolote Canyon Natural Park and Nature Center because it was on the way to my first brewery of the day. It took a while to get there because when I asked Google Maps to locate trailheads it kept sending me to residential areas where maybe there were trailheads but I couldn't find them. Eventually I got to the nature center around 9 AM and walked around for about an hour. There was frost on the grass and I could see my breath. It wasn't the prettiest park but it gave me something to do before drinking. The first photo was taken from one of the places where I couldn't find a trailhead.


Stopped at Carnival Supermarket to pick up some food, then at 11:00 I arrived at Societe Brewing, which has two locations (I'd been to this one in 2015 and 2018). This location has a tasting room and an outdoor beer garden. I sampled:


Checked in at the second of three Motel 6's I'd be staying at and Lyfted to AleSmith. They have a small hidden tasting room in back, called Anvil & Stave, that isn't open anymore (bottom 4 photos). I tried:


Walked to Duck Foot Brewing. My calves were sore from all the walking I'd done the past two days. My leg muscles were in shape because I work out at the gym all the time, but they weren't in walking shape. Anyway, Duck Foot had been in business for 7 years. They're not a highly rated brewery but since they're near the other breweries I was visiting, I stopped in. All of Duck Foot's beers are low gluten because the brewery's founder has celiac disease.


Walked to Pure Project, and right next door is a place called Kové, where Amplified Ale Works had been and I'd visited during my 2018 trip. Kové makes mostly hard teas from yerba mate, and also a few beers. It had been in business for 7 months. The server gave me some free samples before I bought one or two. They were all okay but not my cup of tea (har!).


I'd visited Pure Project's Miramar location in 2018. I tried only one beer because I'd already had several of their offerings at their downtown locations the previous day.


Ballast Point's Miramar location, which I'd visited in 2015 and 2018, is located behind Pure Project. One can go back to the street and walk around, which takes 9 minutes; or save time by going down a steep hill with thorny bushes. I chose the latter, slicing one of my fingers in the process. But my efforts were rewarded with:


Ubered back to the motel and crashed shortly after sundown. Woke up around 11:30 and couldn't get back to sleep.


Friday February 3. Got out of bed a little after 1:00 AM and wrote for several hours. The outsides of my thighs were sore from walking. Left the motel at 7:30. It was cool and cloudy.

Drove to Torrey Pines State Natural Reserve because it was on the way to my first brewery, plus I had a few hours to kill. It was chilly and breezy. There were a lot of cars and it wasn't even 8:00. A few people were surfing and paddleboarding. I walked along the sidewalk and also on the rocks for a while.


There were billions of small rocks that were smooth from years of waves moving them and causing them to rub against each other. In this video you can hear the sound they make when a wave recedes.


Walked up a steep road (just what my sore legs needed) and did the Guy Fleming trail, which offered a few overlooks.


When I came back down there were dozens of cars lined up to pay $20 to park in the lot. I had parked in one of the free spots a quarter of a mile away.

Drove to Lost Abbey's The Confessional. Lost Abbey is simply one of this brewery's brand names, which are Lost Abbey (Belgian beers), Port Brewing (non-Belgian beers), and Hop Concept (hoppy beers). The beers here were very reasonably priced ($2.50-$2.75 for 5 ounces). I tried:


Went to Culture Brewing's Encinitas location. They don't have good Untappd ratings but there is another brewery in town I wanted to visit, so I came here first. They have 3 locations; this one opened in 2017. In 2015 I went to their Ocean Beach location but that has closed. I sampled:


Walked to Modern Times's Far West Lounge. Since I'd already sampled several of their beers a few days earlier, and I was driving, I had just one 5-ounce sample (for which they charged $8):


I went up to Torrance, where it was warmer than it had been further south, and checked into the Redac Gateway Hotel. This is the one town where I couldn't find a cheap motel, but I chose the Redac because it's walking distance to several breweries, whereas I would have had to Uber from the Airbnb. There were a lot of Asians at this hotel, both the staff and the customers. The room was very nice, with a king size bed and a Toto Washlet (the control panel is pictured below).


Walked to Dudes' Brewing, just a stone's throw away. They opened in April 2013 and have 4 locations. This is another brewery that did not get good ratings but I went because it was on my route.


Then I walked to Smog City, which has three locations, two of which are in Torrance. I visited their Torrance Brewery & Taproom. (The other Torrance location wasn't walking distance so I skipped it.)


Next I visited Hermosa Brewing, which has two locations. This one had just opened less than a month earlier. Like Dudes and Culture, it did not get good ratings but it was on my route. I tried their highest rated beer.


My last brewery of the day was Monkish, which also has two locations. I visited their Torrance Tasting Room. I saved this one for last because I'd been here in 2018 and enjoyed it a lot. They don't do flights, but they do half-pours, and since this was my 7th brewery of the day, I was able to try only 5 beers:

I wanted to buy a 4-pack of Hang My Boots, but it was not available, so instead I got Large Shadows.


It was a clear, cool night as I walked back to the hotel (and not in a straight line I might add). Got in by 7 PM and I'm not sure what time I crashed.


Saturday February 4. Slept until 1:30 AM, then spent many hours lying in bed, writing, and enjoying the nicest hotel room I'd stayed at in years. I also used the Toto. I had never used one before, and it was nice. The only problem is that you have to dry off with a towel afterwards. It can dry you with air but that takes considerable time.

Drove to Smog City's "SteelCraft" location. SteelCraft is a concept that unites local eateries within a communal dining space. As of this writing there are 3 locations. I went to the one in Long Beach because that's the one with Smog City. All the businesses at SteelCraft are walk-up-and-order, then you sit in a common space, like a food court. So, Smog City doesn't have a tap room here. The tap list was pretty much the same as at the location I'd been to the previous night, so I'd already had most of the beers I wanted to try. Since I was driving and had several breweries to hit, I got just one sample:


Next was Ballast Point's Anaheim location, which is situated inside the Downtown Disney District, which is located in the heart of the Disneyland Resort. This place has lots of shops and restaurants, and also security guards and metal detectors. Since it was Saturday it was crowded. As with Smog City, I had already had several Ballast Point beers and I was driving, so I got just one sample (forgetting that I'd already had this beer two days earlier).


Ballast Point validated my parking ticket but I still had to pay $10 when I left. Parking is $10 for the first hour and $7 for each half hour thereafter. I'd been there just over an hour, so it would have been $17 without validation. I don't know whether I'd have had to pay if I'd been there less than hour, but either way, this is a very inconvenient location. You have to park a quarter of a mile away and deal with crowds. So I would not recommend this location unless you're going to the Disney District anyway.

I sallied forth to Monkish's other location, their Beer Garden. It's a small place. As with the previous two breweries, I'd already had most of the beers I wanted to try, so I got just one sample:


Checked into my third Motel 6 and walked to The Bruery. There had been another Bruery location just a few minutes away called the Bruery Terreux during my 2018 trip, but that location has closed. There is also a Bruery store in Washington DC. As with Lost Abbey, this brewery has 3 brand names: Bruery (regular beers), Bruery Terreux (funky beers), and Offshoot (hoppy beers). Most of their high-end beers are available only to members of their Reserve Society, which has annual dues of $325. There are also a few special beers that are available only to members of their Hoarders Society, which costs $800 per year. So I was "stuck" with trying:


Ubered to Bottle Logic, which I'd been to in 2018 and very much enjoyed. It has a steampunk science geek theme. I arrived at 3:30, and by 4:00 people were lined up out the door.

3:30...
...4:00


Ubered to Green Cheek Beer Company and sampled:


Since I was ahead of schedule (it was only 5:00) I Googled nearby breweries. The highest rated one that I hadn't been to yet was Noble Ale Works, so I Ubered there and tried:


Ubered back to the motel and I have no idea when I crashed but I slept on and off until 1:30 AM.


Sunday February 5. Lay in bed until almost 4:00 and did my usual routine of writing, shaving, showering, and packing up. Left a little before 9:00. It was cool and cloudy and it had rained overnight. Drove down to San Marcos, filled the gas tank, and went into a store called Crafted Selections, which is basically a convenience store that has lots of beers. I looked up many of them on Untappd and bought a can of the one with the highest rating. Then I picked up a little food at a nearby Trader Joe's and Major Market.

Incidentally, there are lots of a-hole drivers in southern California, just like in most other crowded places. They cut you off, pass on the shoulder, and drive in the HOV lane when they're alone. Motorcyclists are especially bad, weaving around cars at 100 mph. It's like they have a death wish. People like to claim that drivers in their state are the worst, but the truth is that there are bad drivers everywhere because people become rude when in highly populated areas. John B. Calhoun did experiments in the 1940s to 1960s in which rats were given everything they needed, but kept in crowded conditions. The result was pathological behavior. It's called behavioral sink. Well, the same happens in humans. So we are no better than rats.

Went to Burgeon Beer, which has 4 locations. I was at the one they call The Oasis. It doesn't have a taproom but it does have a patio. I got there right when they opened at noon, and within 15 minutes people were lined up for beer. I sampled:


Next I went to Stone Brewing, which has seven locations (six in California and one in Richmond VA). Today I visited their Escondido location, which I'd been to in 2015. It's a big place both inside and out. It has patios and waterfalls and a koi pond (those fish must have been 2 feet long). They serve lots of food. There were hundreds of people, but it didn't look crowded because it's such a big place. There are two entrances: a regular door that brings you to the gift shop, and a path lined with rocks and bamboo. Here is a video of the latter:

I sat at the bar and tried:

I left the same way I came in:


Checked in at a Days Inn and walked about a mile to My Yard Live, which opened in June 2019. Its Untappd rating isn't great but I passed right by it on my way to other breweries. It's a big festive place with games, a playground, a patio, a kitchen, and a stage for live music. I tried:


A little over half a mile further is Lost Abbey's San Marcos Tasting Room, which I had been to in 2015 and 2018. I sampled:


A little further down the road is Wild Barrel's San Marcos location (they have another location about a half hour north). I had been to this location in 2018 less than a year after it opened. I tried:

Panoramic shot of a round room that looks like a barrel from the outside.


It was only 5:00 so I was up for more drinking. There were no more breweries within walking distance, so I used Google and while there weren't any highly rated breweries in the area other than the ones I'd been to, I found a meadery called Meadiocrity Mead a few miles away, so I Ubered there. (By the way, with one exception, Uber was cheaper than Lyft all throughout my trip.) Meadiocrity had been in business for 7 years but had a tap room for only 3½ years. The tap room is nice, with plush furniture. All the meads I tried were good.


A football field's length away is Rip Current, which has 2 locations (I'd walked by their other location on Wednesday when I was in North Park but didn't go in due to being hungover and the fact that this brewery is not highly rated). Tonight I was at their San Marcos location, which I'd been to in 2015.


Ubered back to Days Inn around 6:30, dozed off around 7:00, and woke up sometime between 10:30 and 11:30.


Monday February 6. After trying unsuccessfully to get back to sleep I got up at around 2:00 AM and had lots of time to write, prepare food, etc.

It was a beautiful sunny day, though still a bit cool. At 11:00 I arrived at Pizza Port, which has seven locations. I was at their Bressi Ranch location, where I had been in 2015. (I passed by the second of today's breweries on the way here because it wouldn't open until 11:30, plus I wanted to lay a base with some Pizza Port pizza.) It's a big place with games, a patio, and good food. I ordered a small Pizza Laguna, which is a veggie combo with olives, mushrooms, onions, and artichoke hearts, made with their signature whole grain beer crust. It was very good. I ordered a half pour of the one beer whose Untappd rating was over 4.0, but my server let me sample two others. All three were good.


Backtracked a few miles to Belching Beaver, which has 4 locations. I was at their Pub980. It's a nice place. I ordered a small pour of their highest rated beer (Untappd really comes in handy on my beer travels).


There are other breweries nearby but they didn't open until 3:00 or 4:00 on Mondays, so I drove onward to Karl Strauss Brewing, which opened in 1989 and has 9 locations. I was at the one in Carlsbad. I tried 3 beers, none of which I finished because I didn't like them enough, plus I was driving.


I'd planned on checking into a motel next, but since it was still pretty early I Googled other breweries that weren't too far away. There is one in Oceanside that has a fairly good rating, so I drove past downtown Carlsbad to it. There is another brewery a block away from it called Breakside Brewery whose rating is fairly low, but since it was only a block away I figured what the heck. As expected, most of their beers had low ratings. I ordered their highest rated beer:


Oceanside is aptly named because it's next to the ocean. I walked to the end of Oceanside Pier. It was chilly and windy.


The town has lots of palm trees.


Then I walked to the brewery I'd come here for: Craft Coast Beer & Tacos, which opened during the pandemic in 2020. I sampled:


Drove back down to Carlsbad, checked in at the Scandia Motel, and walked downtown. On the way I found this sign amusing:


Carlsbad has many restaurants and bars, and a lot of people were out considering it was a Monday. I happened by Witch Creek Winery, and on a curious impulse I went in. Their flights are expensive so I ordered a glass of sweet wine. They don't make sweet wines but they have some sweet guest wines. I got Honeywood Winery Raspberry Wine, which was good. I talked to a couple of older ladies, and one of them used to live in the town where I have lived for more than 20 years (Severna Park MD). How serendipitous is that?


There are trains, which the ladies told me about, that go from Oceanside to San Diego and Escondido. As I was walking, one went by:


Went to Pizza Port's Carlsbad Village location. One thing I noticed about both the Pizza Ports I visited today is that they keep their glasses chilled. The samples at this place were only $1.50 each. I tried:


Next I went to Barrel Republic, which has 2 locations. I was at their Carlsbad location. It's not a brewery but it has a self-pour tap system, which there aren't a lot of. The way this place operates is you give them a credit card, which they electronically link to a wristband. You put the wristband next to a tap, which enables it to flow when you pull the handle. The system knows how many ounces you pour, and each libation costs a certain amount per ounce. When you're finished, you turn in your wristband and pay for whatever you drank. There were about 50 selections, mostly beers but also some wines, ciders, seltzers, kombuchas, and non-alcoholic drinks. I sampled:


Walked to Pure Project's Carlsbad location and sampled:


Stopped at the Coyote Bar and Grill for some chips and salsa, then returned to the Scandia at 9:00 and crashed. Woke up around midnight but managed to drift off to sleep again.


Tuesday February 7. Woke up at 2:00 AM, lay in bed for over an hour, and got up. Worked on this travelogue for over 3 hours, made sandwiches, etc, and left a little after 8:00. It was another sunny but cool day. Hit some rush hour traffic, as expected. Arrived at La Jolla Cove and Ellen Browning Scripps Park a little before 9:00. La Jolla Cove smelled horribly fishy. There were seals and/or sea lions in the water, plus pelicans and other birds.


There is a sort of tunnel.


As I walked southward along the park I saw more seals / sea lions.



Some more photos:


There are many places where waves splash against the rocks.




Got to Ballast Point's Home Brew Mart around 11:00. It opens at 10:00 but usually doesn't start pouring beer until 11:00. It has both a taproom and a homebrew supply shop. In addition to many of the regular Ballast Point beers, the taproom has some that were made on this location's 1-bbl homebrewing system. Also, there are some beers from Kings & Convicts, who bought Ballast Point from Constellation Brands in late 2019. I sampled:


Societe Brewing's Old Town Taproom is a few minutes away. It's just a taproom; they don't brew here. I arrived shortly before noon. Their website said that they opened at 11:00, but they'd recently changed their hours to opening at noon, so it's a good thing I didn't come here first. I tried:


Went over to Sunset Cliffs, which has a popular Sea Cave. Unfortunately it is accessible only at low tide, which would be around 7:00 tonight. This presented two problems:

  1. The sun would be down by then.
  2. I planned to be drunk by then.
However, I was still able to walk around and take some photos.


Checked into Travelodge by Wyndham San Diego Sea World and walked to Modern Times's Lomaland Fermentorium, which I had been to in 2015 and 2018. This is the only location they brew at. While their Flavordome has VHS tapes built into the bar, this location has books built into it. Modern Times had been acquired by Maui Brewing three months earlier. I sampled two highly rated and expensive beers:


Walked a half hour to the final brewery of my trip: Stone Brewing's Liberty Station location, which is inside Liberty Public Market. I'd been here in 2015. It's a big, beautiful place, comparable to the one in Escondido. Walked around awhile taking photos, then sat at the bar and tried 4 beers. The first two were 10-ounce because this was my final brewery and I wasn't drunk yet. Also, since it was my final night, I thought I'd shoot the works and order some food. I got three tacos: Crispy Fish, Carnitas, and Chicken Tinga. They were all good, though the Carnitas was hot and spicy.

With all the heavy hitter beers I'd had the past week, I was in the mood for a nice crisp West Coast IPA, so the Delicious and the Hop Squander were refreshing.

Men's room sink.


Got back to the motel by 7:40 and crashed at some point.


Wednesday February 8. Finally got a pretty good night's rest. Woke up a couple of times but managed to get back to sleep. I was up for good at 2:30 AM, which gave me lots of time to add the previous day's events to this website and get ready to go home.

Left around 8:45, dropped off the rental car, and shuttled to the airport. Had a nice smooth direct flight to BWI on Southwest. My friend Jean picked me up and took me home.

Another great trip. 47 breweries. 144 beers (plus several other libations). Ocean views. Good weather. Thanks for reading.